Meet Angelina

Friendship Bridge client since 2009; part of Handmade by Friendship Bridge® since 2019

Angelina is Maya Kakchiquel and comes from a rural community in the department of Sololá. Her mother was a housewife and her father worked in agriculture, but abuse and alcoholism was prevalent in her family. She lost her father to suicide when she was eight and began working a year later in agriculture. She only received a second grade education, and her mother remarried another man with similar abusive and alcoholic tendencies.

The Artisan’s History
Angelina learned artisan techniques as a girl by watching other women artisans in her community. She learned quickly, and by the time she was 14, she knew how to make backpacks, necklaces, and bracelets. Angelina started working for other artisans and delivered products to customers. At 18, she married and moved in with her in-laws, while she developed more artisan skills from her husband’s family members, including straw basket techniques and textile embroidery.

The Friendship Bridge Impact
The same year Angelina joined Friendship Bridge, she and her husband moved out of her in-laws house and built their own home. At the time, Angelina was looking to build her business but didn’t know how to go about it. Through Handmade by Friendship Bridge®, Angelina was introduced to a corporate client that began exporting her products worldwide. Thanks to loans from Friendship Bridge, Angelina has been able to purchase beads, pearls, rhinestones, and thread in greater quantities, which allows her to create products in higher volume and quality than before, and fulfill orders on time.

Goals
Angelina and her husband dream of creating a better future for their three children, and providing their kids with the education they never had.